


Birds of a Feather

by RunRabbitRun



Series: Birds of A Feather [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Cultural Differences, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Pre-Slash, Religion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23783737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunRabbitRun/pseuds/RunRabbitRun
Summary: (AKA a pair of pre-slash-if-you-squint Link/Revali doodles)"This was why he often had trouble getting along with Link: this blind, self-sacrificing, mindless submission to what others told him to do. Revali knew what people said about himself: he was arrogant, he was selfish, he was opinionated. Well, he’d rather have the whole world think of him as a bullheaded fool if being selfless meant he had to give up everything for some misguided sense of piety."
Relationships: Link & Revali (Legend of Zelda), Link/Revali (Legend of Zelda)
Series: Birds of A Feather [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1746190
Comments: 24
Kudos: 214





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> What better way to spend Shelter in Place than rereading a few dozen unfinished doodles?
> 
> I wrote these two pieces with a few things in mind:
> 
> 1) Revali strikes me as being 17-19 years old. He's a brat.  
> 2) If this is true, then he and Link actually have a lot in common. They're a couple of young prodigies thrust into positions of great responsibility. As much as we love Teenagers Save The World narratives, I can't image actual teens would handle the stress very well.  
> 3) Zelda's dad (in Link's restored memories, anyway) gives me weird Religious Fanatic vibes. 
> 
> Anyway, this was in many ways just a way to play around with some headcanons regarding culture, religion, and "Why Are There So Many Teens Save The World stories?"

Sitting on the floor or Revali’s room in Hyrule castle, the Rito mixed up a small pot of bright red paint and carefully applied it to his feathers while Link looked on in fascination.

  
“This is _Trueshot_ ,” Revali said, angling the brush to paint a precise, slanted line under his right eye. It had taken him a long time to get the perfect stroke, but he’d gotten to the point where he could do it all in under a minute. “It’s supposed to make you look fierce, but mainly it’s just to keep the sun glare down.”

  
Link nodded, apparently transfixed. Revali gave an expert little _flick!_ At the corner of his eye and then painted an equally smooth line down his upper eyelid. He repeated the process with his left eye, feeling a bit smug when Link marveled at the perfect symmetry. 

  
“And this is _Farsight_ ,” he said, loading up his brush again and doing two quick little dashes, one on each cheekbone. “It also helps with glare. Most Rito do one or the other but I find the effect is stronger with both.”

  
“It looks good,” Link said. Revali gave the Hylian a superior grin. He was about to cap his paint jar when he was struck with an idea. 

  
“Come here,” he said, beckoning Link closer with a finger. “Get your hair out of the way.”

  
Link obediently tucked his forelocks behind his long ears and, to his credit, stayed perfectly still as Revali approached him with the brush. 

  
“This one is _Ferocity_ ,” he said, painting a slashing, crimson line, starting just above Link’s ear and swooping down the underside of his cheekbone to end just above his jawline. He did the same on the other side and completed the look with a short, vertical dash from the center of his hairline to his browbone. “It’s a warrior’s pattern, usually just for important battles.” 

  
“Do Rito have a lot of different patterns?” Link asked, admiring the paint job in Revali’s small hand-mirror. 

  
“Oh, yes,” Revali said. “Over a hundred, though not all of them get used very often. Some of them are just for looks, some are for special occasions; funerals, weddings, that kind of thing…” he trailed off, concentrating on cleaning his brushes and making sure the bristles were well-aligned and unfrayed. Link continued looking into the hand-mirror, though he didn’t seem to be examining his face anymore.

  
“Do you think you’ll ever get married?” he asked, out of nowhere. Revali was so caught off guard he answered truthfully.

  
“I have no idea,” he said. “There’s no Rito I can picture tying myself to. The married couples they… they always seem so tied up in home life, I can’t imagine having to give up my training and everything I’ve worked for just to make someone else happy.” He realized too late how selfish that must have sounded, but Link didn’t seem to pass judgement. 

  
“I can understand that,” he said. “You’ve already got your life’s work laid out ahead of you. There’s so much work to be done with preparing for Ganon and everything…” he trailed off, then spoke again, turning the hand-mirror over and over in his hands. “It’s good you know what you want. Lots of people get married because they think they should, not because they really want to.”

  
“I hear that,” Revali said, rolling his eyes. “Shall we both vow to be bachelors forever, then? We could be the greatest warriors Hyrule has ever seen without the distraction of spouses and nestlings.”

  
“I would,” Link said, snapping the hand-mirror shut and handing it back to Revali, “But I have obligations to the royal family.”

  
Revali snorted. “What, did old King Rhoam order you to marry his daughter in addition to following her around everywhere?”

  
“Yes,” said Link. 

  
Revali nearly dropped the mirror in shock. 

  
_“What?!”_ Revali sputtered, nearly shrieking. “You are pulling my feathers, he did _not_.”

  
“Well, he didn’t order me so much as… well, it’s been contracted,” Link said. Revali sneered.

  
“What do you mean it’s been contracted? Is it written in stone somewhere that you have to marry the Princess? Is it another prophecy or something? I certainly don’t remember learning that one in history lessons.”

  
Link didn’t meet Revali’s eyes, instead looking past him, out the window in that frankly infuriating way he had. Always looking toward the horizon, always so accepting, never rising to the bait.

  
“When it was discovered that I—I am who I am, King Rhoam approached my parents and suggested writing up a marriage contract,” he gives Revali a quick, flickering glance before going on, as casually as if they were discussing the weather, “You have to admit it has a certain poetic something-or-other to it. _The Goddess Blood Princess and her Appointed Knight…_ ”

  
Revali gaped. It wasn’t that Rito never had marriages of convenience, but to have your spouse picked for you when you were little more than a fledgling, and to have no choice in the matter. He knew he’d never consent to such a thing. 

  
“That’s horrifying,” Revali spat. “And you’re just going to go along with it?”

  
“Of course,” Link said plainly. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  
Revali huffed. “Why wouldn’t—You’re fine with it? Well, maybe you’re fine with doing whatever his Royal Beardness orders you to do, but I can’t believe Zelda’s as willing.”

  
Link finally broke his stoic expression and instead stared at his own hands, balled into fists in his lap. 

  
“She’s… not very happy about it,” he admitted. 

  
“And why would she be? No offense, you’re not the _worst_ possible husband one could ever have—”

  
“Thanks,” Link shot Revali a glare, but the Rito barreled on.

  
“But she has no _choice_ in the matter. I wouldn’t be happy if the Elder ordered me to wed some Rito without even consulting me.”

  
Link didn’t fidget, he rarely did, but he still refused to look Revali in the eyes. Revali resisted the urge to grab him by the chin and _make him look._

  
“I—It’s my duty,” Link said finally. “I’d never force Zelda to—to do anything. I’m sworn to her protection and well being, I just—” he stopped, mouth setting into a firm line, eyes looking off into that _somewhere else_ Revali was growing to hate more and more. “I knew what I was getting into when I decided to become a Knight. This is my purpose, to serve the royal family and the will of Hylia.”

  
“Those two things aren’t the same, you know. The King isn’t a God; if anything, Zelda’s will is the one you should be following.”

  
“Zelda is sworn to the will of her King, as am I,” Link said. “To refuse an order from the royal family is to refuse Hylia herself.”

  
_You’re so stupid!_ Revali wanted to say. _This_ was why he often had trouble getting along with Link: this blind, self-sacrificing, mindless submission to what others told him to do. Revali knew what people said about himself: he was arrogant, he was selfish, he was opinionated. Well, he’d rather have the whole world think of him as a bullheaded fool if being selfless meant he had to give up everything for some misguided sense of piety. 

  
“Hylia has nothing to do with it,” he said. “The King has his own agenda and I’d bet my beak it has more to do with securing heirs and looking good for the court than anything Hylia would want.”

  
Finally, Link looked at him. Just a glance, but it was sharp. His mouth pursed ever-so-slightly, as if he was fighting a scowl. _Target acquired._

  
“It’s all for show. You know that, right? Oh, sure, the King probably has the Kingdom’s best interests at heart, but who’s to say that he actually knows what’s best for the country? Or his daughter for that matter? I say if he really wanted to defend Hyrule from Ganon he’d dump all the prophecy nonsense and let us Champions figure out a way to blast the damn Calamity all the way to—”

  
Link stood up, nearly knocking Revali over in the process. He looked absolutely livid, blue eyes blazing, fist clenched like they hungered for a blade. The bloody red Rito paint made him look more angular and far fiercer than his usual stony expression ever did. Revali had the fleeting thought that Link suddenly looked much better than he had before, but that notion was quickly replaced with ‘I’m about to get decked in the face.’ 

  
Link opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He clenched his jaw and then… nothing. His fists relaxed, and is face settled back into that bloodless approximation of tranquility that made Revali want to break something. 

  
“I am what I am,” he said, quiet and firm. “And I will do my duty. If it’s truly not the will of Hylia, she can strike me down whenever she sees fit.”

  
And then he left. He didn’t even stomp or slam the door on his way out, like any sensible person would have done. Revali hurled his hand mirror at the wall and was left to stare at the glittering shards of glass, with only the storm of fury in his chest for company. 


	2. Chapter 2

Revali wandered into the chapel almost by accident. He’d simply been walking to pass the time, taking in the castle with it’s sprawling layout, when he found the small temple attached to the royal guards’ quarters. 

  
It was dark, even at noon, as the windows were few and quite small. He peered through the gloom, taking in the low wooden benches, the unlit candelabra, the small altar with its stone figure of the Goddess… and the single devotee sitting hunched before her. 

  
Revali’s first thought was to leave quietly, but then he caught sight of that particular golden hair, bright even in the dimness. He hadn’t seen Link since the he’d left him sitting alone in his rooms three days before, after they’d argued. 

  
Not that Revali had been counting or anything. 

  
He clicked his beak and watched for a moment; he’d never seen Link like this. Zelda prayed often, taking herself away from other each night to speak to Hylia in private. Link stayed behind when she did this, never joining her or any others in their invocations. Revali knew that Hylians were pious as a rule, but didn’t make a study of other societies’ ways. He didn’t know if this solitary prayer was cultural or an individual quirk.

  
Rito prayed together, lifting their voices in a chorus to the Goddess so she might hear their harmonies. This silent meditation was strange to him, so private and reserved.

  
Watching the young knight, even at a distance Revali could see the white-knuckled grip of his hands, clasped together with his furrowed brow resting on them. The _sword_ was no where to be seen.

  
Link, prayer finished, suddenly released a harsh breath of air and unclasped his hands. He muttered something under his breath and ground the heels of his hands into his eyes. Revali realized he was about to be caught spying but there was no time to flee, so he steeled his posture and waited until Link turned around and spotted him. 

  
Revali expected the same stoic silence from the knight, but he was surprised to hear Link speak.

  
“I’m sorry, did you need to…?” he gestured vaguely behind him at the Goddess. His voice was soft, but somehow always deeper than Revali expected. 

  
“Oh, uh, no,” he said. “No I just—well, I’m _allowed_ , aren’t I?” he added, feeling unaccountably flustered. Link was still and calm as usual, as though they hadn’t had a major falling out. Revali thought he looked a bit tired, though. 

  
There was silence between them, Link looking at Revali with that same, distant expression he always wore. Revali’s own eyes darted all over, if only to avoid meeting that stony, empty gaze. Finally, just when Revali was on the brink of leaving and ending the whole awkward interaction, Link took a slow breath and spoke.

  
“I apologize,” he said.

  
Revali very nearly told him to go get plucked but he managed to hold back, folding his wings across his chest and throwing Link’s cool look back at him.

  
“Whatever for?” he asked. He wanted to hear what it was exactly Link thought was his major infraction.

  
“For losing my temper the other day,” Link said. “It was uncalled for and unbecoming of a Knight.”

  
Revali clicked his beak in agitation. 

  
“You don’t need to apologize for anything,” he said. “Except for being spineless, I suppose.”

  
Link’s eyes narrowed, ever so slightly. 

  
“I, on the other wing, apologize for exactly _nothing_. I still think your betrothal to the Princess is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

  
“You’re not wrong,” Link said with a shrug. “It’s a bad match.”

  
Once again, Revali was struck dumb by Link’s uncanny ability to say the damnedest things at just the right time.

  
“I care for Zelda, and I’d be honored to be her husband, but… it’s not what I would have chosen for myself.” He sighed, rubbing the nape of his neck anxiously, “I don’t have to like it, but I stand by my commitments,” he finished, seeming resigned but otherwise unbothered. 

  
Revali huffed, a little surprised that Link was admitting it like an actual person.

  
“Is that so?” he asked.

  
“It is,” Link said. Then, with a smirk, he added, “I put up with _you_ , don’t I?”

  
Revali laughed out loud. 

  
“Finally, he says something true!” he snickered. Link scowled at him.

  
“I don’t get what’s so damn funny,” he grumbled.

  
“ _You_ are, you absolute idiot,” Revali crowed. “I like you better when you’re acting unbecoming of a Knight.”

  
“You’re ridiculous,” Link muttered. 

  
“Ridiculously talented and attractive, you mean,” Revali said, tossing his braids. “Anyway, where are you going? I have nothing to do until this evening and I’d like to thrash you at archery if you’re not doing anything.”

  
Link actually smiled, just a tiny grin. 

  
“I’m leading drills after this, the thrashing will have to wait.”

  
“Pity, I’ll simply have to entertain myself by watching whatever it is you Hylians think of as military training. A lot of stomping around and sword waving, I assume.”

  
“You’re welcome to use the training yard” Link said, mildly. “I believe the kitchens have some cuccos you can spar with.”

  
Revali barked out another laugh. “I wouldn’t want to deplete your ranks of soldiers, Sir Knight.”

  
Link’s grin grew, “I wouldn’t take an angry cucco so lightly if I were you. I grew up on a farm and I know how nasty they can get.” 

  
_He grew up on a farm?_ Revali thought, somewhat astonished. I never would have guessed… He covered his surprise with a roll of his eyes.

  
“Sounds absolutely traumatizing, how do you live with such terrifying memories?” he turned and started walking towards the door, looking back just as he was about to leave. “Well, are we going to the training yard or not?”

  
Link had a strange expression on his face, a sort of soft little half-smile, that Revali had never seen him wear. He dropped it in favor of an exaggerated eyeroll of his own. “I’m coming, quiet yourself.”

  
They continued to trade jabs right up until they ran into some of Link’s fellow soldiers, at which point the Hylian’s composure clicked back into place like a key in a lock. For once, Revali didn’t mind it; he’d always liked being in on a secret.


End file.
